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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · scale · bat · bowl · tear · can · foot · jam

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. can — a tin
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. can — to be able to
  7. wind — moving air
  8. can — a tin
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. tear — to rip
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. foot — a measure
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. bat — the animal
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. tear — from crying
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com